For one crazy moment I feared for my sanity. Like, maybe I’d fallen so far into my heartbroken depression that I’d lost my mind and had slipped into a super vivid daydream.
“Eve, are you okay?” He leaned in closer and his intoxicating scent wrapped around me.
That was the last straw. There was no way I could think straight with him so close.
“I need a minute.” I raced toward the doors, not stopping until I was in the hallway.
“Eve, please just give me a minute to explain.” Cooper was right behind me.
I turned to respond but caught sight of Nora and Collette and Olivia and Rosalie and about twenty others crowding the open doorway of the rec room. Looking up at Cooper, all I could see was his intensity. His brows were drawn down in a fierce scowl as he watched me warily.
He thought I was running away.
I reached for his hand and tugged. “Come with me.”
I led us out of sight, around a corner, not stopping until we reached the storage closet we’d slipped into the weekend before.
The silence and the darkness inside instantly put me at ease. In here, it was just me and Cooper. As the silence grew, so did the tension. The air between us seemed to crackle with electricity as I became more and more aware of his physical closeness. The little room was thick with unspoken questions and promises.
We were so close that I could feel his heat as it radiated off of him. Even through the dark shadows, I could see the intensity of his stare as he watched me.
As he waited for me.
His whole body seemed to be vibrating with nervous anticipation but he was waiting patiently for me to speak. There was so much I wanted to say, so much I wanted to ask, but I found myself reaching for him first. I placed a hand against the button-down shirt he wore beneath the same suit jacket he’d sported at the dance.
He covered my hand with his and pressed it to his chest. To his heart. I could feel it pounding beneath my touch, I could feel the heat of his skin burning through the shirt.
“You did all this for me?” I whispered.
He leaned down closer, his voice so low it sent a shiver down my spine. “I would do anything for you.”
I couldn’t resist the pull he had on me. His body seemed to have a gravitational pull all its own, and without thinking I let myself fall into it, leaning against his chest as his arms wrapped around me holding me tight.
“I am so sorry I hurt you, Eve.”
I pulled my head back just far enough that I could look up into his eyes.
“You were right. I was hiding behind excuses, when really I was terrified that I would hurt you.”
I felt tears welling up as hurt and pain warred with the anger I’d been trying so hard to cling to these past few days.
“In trying to protect you, I only ended up hurting you. I’ll never forgive myself for that.” His frown intensified and I saw all the anger he was directing at himself.
The last of my anger disappeared. It was impossible to keep blaming him when he was doing such a stellar job of blaming himself.
“I know why you did what you did,” I said. “I hated it, and I’m still hurt that you didn’t fight for us, but I get it.”
He arched his brows, and the flicker of hope in his eyes made my heart squeeze with tenderness for this sweet, kind, confused giant. I went up on tiptoe and dropped a light kiss on his chin, loving the way his chest stopped moving as he held his breath.
I dropped back down with a sigh. “You’re afraid that you’ll end up like your father.”
He nodded. “I am. But I’m not going to let that stop me anymore. I care about you too much to let you go, but I’ll do everything in my power to be the kind of man that you deserve.”
The tears I’d been fighting filled my eyes and trickled down my cheeks. “You mean it? You’ll fight for us?”
He leaned down until his forehead rested on mine. “Babe, I’d go to war before I let anything come between us again.”
Happiness felt like standing by a fire after freezing in the cold. The rush of warmth was so intense it made me tremble in his arms, this rush of joyful emotions soothing and welcome and just a little painful in its intensity as it eased away the last of my own fears.
I pulled back a bit so I could see his expression. “But what about Trenton.”
“I talked to him. We’re cool.”
We’re cool. What a guy thing to say. But I had no doubt that it was true. They loved each other too much to let this come between them.
“So, what do you say, Eve? Will you give me another chance to prove that I can be the guy you deserve?”
I nodded, those silly tears still streaming but this time because my heart was aching with happiness. “Yes. Yes, I’ll definitely—”
He cut me off with a kiss that was fierce and desperate and sweet and...perfect.
I lifted my arms to wrap them around his neck as he held me tight, his firm lips moving over mine like he was branding me as his. Like he was claiming me as his own. I kissed him right back, hoping he could feel it too. That he was mine, and I was his, and nothing could change that.
He tilted his head, his lips slanting over mine to deepen the kiss with a groan that made me shiver.
When he eventually pulled back to give us both a chance to breathe, he moved his lips to my jaw, my neck, that sensitive spot right beneath my ear. He didn’t stop until I was sighing with pleasure.
“We should go back,” he said. “Tell Nora and the others that the do-over dance was a success.”
I grinned because I could feel his smile against my neck.
“The do-over dance, huh?”
He pulled back and his smile made my heart trip over itself. “I wanted to go back to that night when everything was so perfect. But this time I want to end it right.”
I nodded, remembering the way he’d gotten scared off the night of the dance. “So no more running away?”
He tightened his arms around my waist so I was pressed tightly against him. “I’m not going anywhere.”
He kissed me again, lightly this time, his movements slow and tender. I had this feeling that this kiss was a promise. A vow. And I never wanted it to end.
This time when he pulled back, I held on tight. “Can’t we just stay in here all night?”
He laughed. “And leave all our friends wondering?”
I knew he was right but I tugged his head down so I could whisper in his ear. “I’m so happy when I’m alone with you, Cooper. I don’t want to share.”
His low laugh near my ear made me warm and fuzzy from head to toe, and when he nuzzled my neck I nearly moaned.
He growled low in his throat as his lips found the sensitive spot beneath my ear. I gasped as he trailed kisses down the length of my neck. “Greedy girl,” he said against my skin. “I like that.”
I sighed when he pulled back because I knew he was right. We couldn’t leave the others hanging all night. “I guess we should get back to the dance.” The thought of that rec room with the couples and the roses… I started to laugh as he opened the door to the too-bright hallway. “You didn’t have to go to all this trouble, you know.”
He clasped my hand in his as we walked slowly side-by-side. “Yes, I did. I told you. I want to start over, and this time I’m going to do it right. I want to give you everything you deserve—”